Tag Archive | "NHS"

According to the U.K.’s Telegraph, soon British doctors might be “prescribing” more apps than medications.

A new government strategy calls for a National Health Service (NHS) app store in which approved applications that purportedly improve health and lifestyles would be kitemarked (a UK product and service quality certification mark) by the health service and may also be provided for free to those trying to improve their wellbeing.

For example, overweight patients may be recommended an app that tracks their diet and exercise and those suffering from diabetes could use an app to monitor blood sugar.

A new report out of the U.K is praising the telehealth program sponsored by the U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VHA) — which is the largest telehealth project in the world — while also asking the question of why telehealth hasn’t gained more momentum and adoption across the U.S. healthcare system.

The new report, published by the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS), touts the VHA’s telehealth program as a prime example of how telehealth services should be rolled out on such a large scale. Patients enrolled in the program — most of whom have chronic conditions such as heart failure, COPD, hypertension, diabetes, and post-traumatic stress disorder — receive free telemonitoring equipment and attention from care coordinators who teach them how to manage their own care.

According to a progress update on a long-term study being conducted by the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS), the use of mobile devices and mobile broadband can significantly reduce costs associated with office visits, unnecessary referrals to specialists, wasted home visits and hospital admissions.

The NHS armed physicians with Panasonic Toughbook laptops connected via mobile broadband cards at 11 sites across the U.K over an 8-week trial in 2010. Researchers indicated an initial savings of over $737 per clinician, which equates to roughly $4,800 per clinician, per year.